Well casing supported water storage tank



-Apri|1,1969 C.C. WILLIAMS 3,435,896

WELL CASING SUPPORTED WATER STORAGE TANK Filed May 8, 1967 INVENTDR. CLIFFORD C. WILLIAMS 8 BY 4 m (4 1M ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,435,896 WELL CASING SUPPORTED WATER STORAGE TANK 60434 Clifford C. Williams, Box 681, Joliet, Ill.

Filed May 8, 1967, Ser. No. 636,936 Int. Cl. E21b 33/03; E0311 11/02; F161 5/02 US. Cl. 166-88 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a well casing supported water storage tank, and particularly to a tank adapted for use in connection with a well supplying water to a water supply system in a rural or suburban location. The tank is of the type in which the water therein is under air pressure generated incident to the pumping operation by compressing air entrapped above the water level.

The support of a tank upon a well casing is desirable for compactness of the water system installation, but has been difficult of achievement heretofore in a manner and construction which is economical, simple to install, and which will be fail-safe and will satisfy minimum requirements of sanitation.

When such a tank is installed in an underground location as is required in climates where freezing of the ground is a problem, the tank must be installed at a depth below the frost line. Previous installations of underground well casing supported tanks have usually entailed welding of the tank to the well casing. To be welded properly, the welding must be done in a factory where perfect welds can be accomplished. In such prior constructions, the section of well casing to which the tank is welded is threaded for connection with the remainder of a well casing at the site. This presents problems, however, since the outlet fitting of the tank is also installed at the factory, and it is difficult to accomplish a threaded connection which provides a seal between the sections of the well casing and at the same time provides the proper radial positioning of the outlet to extend in the direction in which the point of use, such as a building, is located in reference to the well casing. In prior welded constructions, it has been necessary to either sacrifice the seal between the sections of the well casing which are threaded together, or to provide a line from the outlet fitting of use which is circuitous. Such a circuitous line is costly and may require the digging of a hole of a size larger than required for the tank alone or larger than would be required if a direct or straight line connection between the point of use and the tank could be utilized.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a tank surrounding and supported by a well casing in which all joints in the installation of the tank are under the pressure of the water in the system, so that any leakage from the tank is outward and no problem of sanitation occurs.

A further object is to provide a device of this character in which the tank can be applied to a well casing on the well site Without welding or threading of parts at the well site.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which does not require a threaded connection with a well casing, whereby the outlet of the tank can be positioned in any radial direction required relative to the well casing without sacrifice of the seals of the casing and the tank.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which is economical in construction, completely sanitary and which is fail-safe so that all water contact surfaces thereof and the points of field attachment of the tank to the well casing are watertight and are maintained under the pressure of the system supplied by a pump.

Other objects will become apparent from the following specification.

The foregoing objects are achieved by a construction wherein a water storage tank having aligned openings therein fits around a well casing having an opening discharging into the tank. Sealing means of the compression fitting type are associated with the tank at each opening and include sealing rings encircling the casing and adjustable means to compress the sealing rings for sealing purposes and for the purpose of anchoring the tank upon the casing at selected elevation and in selected rotative orientation.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a tank mounted upon the upper part of a Well casing, and illustrating one type of scaled joint between the tank and the well casing.

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view of a seal of modified construction taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged axial detail sectional view illustrating a modified construction of a seal between the lower part of a tank and the well casing.

FIG. 5 is an axial sectional view illustrating the assembly of a modified type of upper seal upon a tank prior to completion of the installation of the tank upon a well casing.

Referring to the drawing, and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, the numeral 10 designates a well casing of any suitable or desired size having associated therewith a pump (not shown) by means of which water may be pumped through a drop pipe (not shown) to an adapter (not shown) which discharges water at an outlet opening 12 in the well casing spaced below the upper end of the well casing. The adapter may be of the type shown in my Patents No. 2,968,256, dated Jan. 17, 1961, and No. 3,306,358 dated Feb. 28, 1967, or of any other suitable type. The adapter and the pump are accessible through the upper end of the well caing, which well caing extends above ground level and has a closure cap 14 mounted thereon to seal the same.

A water storage tank 16 of any suitable construction, and preferably having a bottom 18, a top 20, and cylindrical part 22, is adapted to be mounted upon the well casing. In the form shown, an opening 19 is provided in the tank bottom 18 and an opening 21 is provided in the top 20, which holes are of such size as to accommodate fitting of the tank around the well casing by the tank endwise upon the well casing. It will be understood, however, that the openings to receive a well casing need not be formed in the top and bottom as shown, but that the axis of a tank may be positioned horizontally, in which event the openings to receive the well casing may be positioned centrally of the length of the tank and at substantially diametrically opposed portions of the cylindrical tank portion 22. The portion of the tank which is positioned lowermost in use will be provided with an outlet or discharge opening at which is secured a fitting 24 of any suitable character. The fitting 24 may be welded or otherwise effectively sealed around the outlet opening and is adapted for connection of a water delivery conduit 26 thereto. The tank is preferably provided with a floating member 28 which encircles the well casing and is freely movable vertically within the tank. Member 28 serves the purpose of maintaining a substantially undisturbed upper surface of the water in the tank and of preventing loss of air pressure in the upper portion of the tank through excessive aeration of the water within the tank.

Studs 30 are preferably welded to the tank bottom during fabrication of the tank, and are installed at the factory prior to installation of the tank at the site of use. A rigid gasket compressing ring 32 has openings through which the studs 30 project and is held upon the studs by lock nuts 34 which are threaded upon the stud. The ring 32 has an inner diameter slightly greater than the outer diameter of the well casing so as to fit slidably thereon, and this opening is defined in part by the bore of a cylindrical or tubular neck portion 36, and in part by a frusto-conical surface 38 adjacent the juncture of the ring 32 and the tubular part 36 thereof. A gasket ring 40 of triangular cross-section encircles the well casing 10 and has a conical surface which engages the conical surface 38 of the ring in use, the upper portion of the gasket fitting or bearing against the lower surface of the tank bottom 18 or the lowermost tank portion surrounding the bottom opening 19. It will be apparent that by advancing the lock nuts 34 after the parts are installed in place on the well casing, the gasket may be compressed inwardly circumferentially and a seal is effected between the bottom of the tank and the well casing. The construction is similar to a compression fitting which can be tightened to the extent necessary to insure that no leakage will occur thereat. Set screws (not shown) may be threaded in the tubular part 36 to engage the well casing to assist in supporting the weight of the tank and contents if desired.

The top 20 may have a seal construction similar to that described and in which the parts bear the same reference numeral, which effects a seal between the top opening 21 and the well casing 10. Thus, installation of the tank 16 as a unit is readily accomplished at the site by lowering ,the tank with its upper and lower assembled tank rings 32, gaskets 40, and loose lock nuts 34 on the well casing to a point communicating with outlet 12. This is followed by tightening nuts 34 at the lower end and then tightening nuts 34 at the upper end until the desired sealed joints between the tank 16 and the well casing 10 are provided.

In underground installations, it is desirable that the tank shall be rendered rust proof, and for this purpose it is preferably galvanized inside and outside, and the other metal parts such as rings 32, studs 30 and nuts 34 also may be galvanized or may be formed of rust resistant metal.

It will be observed that by reason of the fact that the tank 16 fits freely over the wall casing 10 while it is being installed, the discharge fitting 24 thereof can be oriented at any radial position relative to the well casing which is convenient for positioning the connected discharge line 26 to extend to a desired delivery point. It will also be understood that the outlet opening 12 will be positioned within the tank 16 adjacent the lower part thereof so that, as water is pumped into the storage tank 16 by operation of the pump, the liquid level in the tank and the elevation of the floating member increases. This serves to compress the air trapped in the upper part of the tank and provide a charge of air in the tank above the level of the floating member 28, thus providing a pressure head which will discharge water from the tank through the line 26 when a valve (not shown) controlling that line is open.

In order to minimize the adverse effects of compression of the gasket 40 to effect a seal, insofar as extrusion incident to such pressure is concerned, a construction of the character illustrated in FIG. 3 may be utilized. In this construction, the gasket is of triangular cross-section as previously mentioned, and is formed of a body of comparatively soft rubber or rubber-like resilient material. At

the apex of the gasket between its well-casing engaging surface 42 and its bevelled or inclined outer face, the gasket is formed with a bonded rubber or rubber-like ring portion 44 of greater hardness than its body and which tends to resist extrusion. Similarly, a hard rubber seal ring part 46 is bonded to and extends around the portion of the gasket body between the inclined face thereof and the tank-engaging face 48. If desired, the frusto-conical outer bevelled face of the gasket ring may be encircled by a metal ring or band 50 adapted for sliding engagement with the bevelled face 38 of the gasket compressing ring 32. By this arrangement, the part of the gasket located at the junction between the well casing and the tank wall may be formed of comparatively soft material responsive to pressure to effectively seal the gap or opening 19 or 21 between the well casing and the tank part. All other surfaces of the gasket are protected against undesired extrusion and against deformation of the rubber incident to the application of pressure to the bevelled surface thereof.

A modified construction of the seal between the bottom of the tank and the well casing is illustrated in FIG. 4. In this construction, a ring 60 encircles the well casing with slight clearance, the same being formed of metal and being rigid and having a thick walled lower part and a comparatively thin walled upper ring part 62. Ring 60, 62 supports a gasket 64 which is of substantially rectangular shape in cross-section. The stepped crosssectional configuration of the ring 60, 62 provides an internal shoulder 66 adapted to support the gasket ring 64. The large diameter part or body of the ring spaced from the shoulder 66 has a plurality of substantially uniformly spaced radial threaded openings formed therein, each of which is adapted to receive a set screw or anchoring screw 68 adapted to be threaded into anchoring engagement with the well casing 10. The axial dimension of the thin-walled ring part 62 is less than the axial dimension of the gasket 64 which projects from the ring so that the tank wall at 18 will bear on the gasket and be spaced above the upper edge of the anchor ring part 62, as seen in FIG. 4. In this construction, downward pressure upon the tank 16 presses the tank bottom 18 against the gasket 64 to compress the gasket against the fixedly anchored ring 60 and thus effect a seal at opening 19.

In this construction, parts similar to those shown in FIG. 4 are utilized at the tank top also as seen in FIG. 5, and have the same reference numerals as parts shown in FIG. 4.

In order to apply the pressure required to effect seals at both the upper and the lower gaskets 64 in this construction a rigid ring 70 is firmly anchored to the Well casing above the uppermost anchor ring 60 by means of a plurality of radially extending anchoring set screws 72. A plurality of screw threaded bores are formed in equispaced relation parallel to the axis of the ring 70 and to each other, and pressure applying screws 74 are threaded in said ring bores for engagement with the top of the uppermost ring 60.

It will be apparent that when the parts have been assembled, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, with the bolts or set screws 68 firmly anchoring the lowermost ring 60 to the well casing and with the set screws 72 firmly anchoring the ring 70 to the well casing while the set screws 68 of the uppermost ring 60 are loose and free from anchoring engagement with the well casing, the unit is ready for final adjustment to effect the seal at the upper and lower tank openings. This is accomplished by advancing each of the pressure applying screws 74 to an equal extent after initial contact thereof with the uppermost ring 60. The application of pressure in this manner is distributed equally between the upper and the lower gasket rings 64. When sufiicient compression of the upper and lower gasket rings 64 has been accomplished to insure the required sealing of the tank at openings 19 and 21, the upper set screws 68 may be advanced radially inwardly to firmly anchor the upper ring 60 to the well casing. Thereupon, the pressure exerting screws 74 can be withdrawn, the screws 72 can be released, and the upper ring 70 can be removed from the well casing. Alternatively, the upper ring 70 may be retained and pressure exerting screws may be retained in operative position, in which event the set screws 68 of the upper ring 60 may be omitted or may remain loose.

A further modification is illustrated in FIG. 5, wherein each of the gasket rings 64 is provided with a metal encircling band 76 terminating at one edge substantially flush with the surface of the gasket which engages the adjacent tank wall and terminating at its opposite edge spaced from the face of the gasket which engages the abutment shoulder 66. By this gasket construction extrusion of the gasket between the part 62 and the tank wall is prevented without preventing the compression of the gasket required to effect sealing of the openings 19 and 21. It will be apparent that in all embodiments of the invention the compressed gaskets serve the dual functions of (a) sealing the tank against leakage of water and compressed air, and (b) supporting the tank and its contents atselected elevation on the well casing.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be understood that Nariations of the device may be within the purview of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In combination,

a substantially vertical well casing having a water discharge opening spaced below the upper end thereof,

a water storage tank having aligned openings therein of a size to fit slidably and with clearance upon the well casing and having a water outlet at its lower part positionable in any selected radial relation to said casing,

upper and lower casing-encircling gasket rings adapted to seal the clearance space between the casing and the tank at each of said aligned openings between which said water discharge casing opening communicates with the interior of said tank,

upper and lower gasket confining and compressing rings loosely encircling said wall casing, and

means for effecting relative gasket-compressing movement between each ring and the tank whereby said gaskets are compressed to effect circumferential sealing engagement with said tank at the margins of said well casing encircling openings and thereby provide support for said tank and its contents at a selected position on said well casing.

2. The combination defined in claim 1, wherein said tank carries a series of parallel screw threaded studs around each well casing receiving opening, said gasket-compressing rings having stud receiving openings, and a nut threaded on each stud to advance said ring in gasket-compressing direction. 3. The combination defined in claim 1, wherein each gasket is triangular cross-section having a frustoconical face, and each gasket-compressing ring has a projecting tubular portion defining a part of the inner periphery thereof and an inner frusto-conical gasket-engaging surface at the junction of said ring and said tubular por tion. 4. The combination defined in claim 1, wherein each ring has a gasket-receiving portion from which said gasket projects axially for sealing engagement with said tank around a casing-encircling opening and at least the lower ring has a plurality of substantially equispaced radial screw threaded openings spaced from said gasketreceiving portion, and set screws threaded in said screw threaded openings in thrust engagement with said well casing. 5. The combination defined in claim 1, wherein at least said lower gasket compressing ring is releasably anchored to said well casing by set screws carried thereby and in radial thrust engagement with said casing, and wherein said last named means comprises a ring encircling and releasably anchored at selected position on said casing above said tank by set screws, and having a plurality of parallel screw threaded bores therein extending lengthwise of and spaced from said casing, and screws threaded in said last named ring and engageable with the upper gasket compressing ring to urge the same downwardly relative to the well casing while the set screws of the lower gasket ring are in anchoring thrust engagement with the casing.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,642,245 9/1927 Judy 166-75 X 2,128,617 8/1938 Lawlor 137-592 X 3,073,018 1/1963 Gauthron 52- 73 X 3,095,928 7/1963 Morrison et al. 16675 CHARLES E. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner. J AN A. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

